How Chris Stratton is setting the bar higher in Giants' rotation competition

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–A day after Ty Blach tossed three innings without allowing an earned run against the Brewers, Chris Stratton cranked up the heat on the Giants’ competition for starting rotation spots with three scoreless frames against the Angels.

Stratton and Blach entered the spring as ‘front-runners’ for the final two jobs behind Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, and both pitchers have inspired plenty of confidence in manager Bruce Bochy.

After debuting against the Dodgers Saturday, Stratton faced 11 Angels’ hitters in the Giants’ 11-4 loss, notching three strikeouts while allowing just one hit and one walk.

“That first inning I definitely had to get a better feel for the curveball and that second inning, it came around,” Stratton said. “The first one was a little tough, but I just had to mix it up.”

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The spin rate on Stratton’s curveball is elite, as his version of the pitch led all players who threw at least 100 curves last season in revolutions per minute. The amount of spin on a pitch changes its trajectory, making Stratton’s curveball more difficult for hitters to pick up.

Against the Angels, Stratton relied heavily on a fastball that averaged 91.6 miles per hour last season. Though Stratton can’t reach back and pound hitters with mid-to-high 90s heat, his four-seam fastball also carries a high-spin rate that has a rising effect on hitters.

That effect aided Stratton on Thursday, when he fell behind in counts and was forced to rely on his fastball to record outs.

“I think I need to do a better job of not getting behind,” Stratton said. “I think I had to throw some fastballs when I didn’t want to because of being behind hitters but overall, it was a good day. I competed well in the zone when I threw strikes and I made a lot of pitches when I had to.”

Bochy said postgame that he was impressed by the way Stratton limited the Angels, but wasn’t surprised to hear Stratton was disappointed to fall behind in counts. The Giants’ manager admitted it’s a sign of how Stratton has evolved over the past year and shows how the former first round draft pick has raised his own level of expectations.

“(Stratton) is demanding of himself,” Bochy said. “Executing pitches, they know when they don’t get the ball where they want. Even though the result may be good, that’s not what they want. They know that long-term that result probably won’t be good so that’s why he’s demanding of himself.”

Andrew Suarez, Tyler Beede and non-roster invitee Derek Holland are bidding to snag the jobs that Stratton and Blach have inside tracks on, but neither lead competitor is showing any signs of weakness.